For a lot of us, the weather is starting to really heat up, signalling the arrival of summer in earnest and, to put it simply, it can make the office a hard place to be.
Your workers can end up feeling drained, unmotivated, and generally miserable from spending time in an office that’s getting too hot, stuffy, and uncomfortable to be conducive to any kind of decent working day.
Here, we’re going to look at some of the changes that can make a big improvement in comfort, morale, and productivity.
Good Airflow
One of the most important factors in making an office bearable in the summer is getting fresh, cool air around the place. When it feels hot, humid, or stale, focusing can become a true chore.
You might want to take a look at improving or upgrading the air conditioning in your office building, as a lot of older models really aren’t fit for dealing with the kind of summers we’ve been getting lately, and having a few fans to keep air moving in areas where cooling is limited can offer some help, as well.
Cool Drinks
Having easy access to hydration and cool water isn’t just a good way to deal with the heat of the summer; it’s an essential health and well-being consideration for your team. This is especially true in offices with big windows or other spaces that heat up quickly.
A water cooler can make it a lot easier for the team to drink regularly throughout the day, and can prevent the headaches, fatigue, and poor concentration that come with dehydration. Just a few coolers throughout the office can make a huge difference in an individual’s working day.
Flexible Dress Codes
Even if you prefer your team to dress professionally for the majority of the year, it’s important to not only loosen the dress codes on the hottest days of the year, but to communicate it, as well. Encourage them to switch to lighter clothing, more breathable fabrics, and short-sleeved shirts if they want.
You don’t have to abandon standards completely, of course, and can outline what counts as business-casual. Unless you’re going for a “dress however you want so long as it’s appropriate”, making sure that your guidelines are clear is vital, especially for meetings or more formal settings.
Remote Working Options
Sometimes, the office simply gets too hot to make for a productive workspace. Other employees might have to think about commuting in the heat, which can exacerbate the problem massively. When you think that workers aren’t likely to be productive in the office, letting them work from home might be the answer.
Remote and flexible working setups have become one of the most in-demand benefits, helping businesses attract and retain the top talent in the market, and this could be the perfect time to see how well you’re able to accommodate them.
Finding the way to help your team work productively and happily might be more of a challenge when we’re dealing with record-level heat, so some investment or out-of-the-box thinking might be necessary.
Disclosure: this is a collaborative post